Amla up for top ICC award

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Colombo - Australia's Michael Clarke has been
selected as captain of the International Cricket Council's Test team of
the year and also been shortlisted with South Africans Hashim Amla and
Vernon Philander and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara for the International
Cricketer of the Year award.

All four have been shortlisted for
the Test Cricketer of the Year award, while Sangakkara has been
nominated along with team-mate Lasith Malinga and India's M.S. Dhoni and
Virat Kohli for the ODI player of the year prize.

The shortlists,
announced on Thursday, were selected by a 32-member panel featuring media
and former players from a period spanning from August 4, 2011 until August 6
this year. The winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy will be
announced at a ceremony in Colombo on September 15, ahead of the Twenty20
World Cup.

Paceman Dale Steyn was selected in the ICC Test team
for the fifth consecutive year, joining fellow South Africans Amla,
Philander and Jacques Kallis in the XI. AB de Villiers was named as
12th man.

Clarke, who has led Australia's resurgence in Test
cricket since replacing Ricky Ponting as captain last year, was selected
to lead the honorary team which features players from six countries.

Opener
Alastair Cook, wicketkeeper Matt Prior and paceman Stuart Broad were
selected from England, which recently surrendered the No 1 Test ranking
to South Africa. Sangakkara was selected to bat at No 3, with West
Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul at No 6, while Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal was
chosen as the spin bowler.

Amla, Kallis and Sangakkara have made the ICC Test XI for three consecutive years.

"Those
selected can be justifiably proud of their achievements and well
deserving of the recognition they receive as great cricketers of their
era," ICC chief executive David Richardson said.

Other categories
to be decided on September 15 include the best performance in a Twenty20
international - with West Indian Chris Gayle and Sri Lanka's
Tillakaratne Dilshan among those nominated - and emerging cricketer of
the year.

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